ron_dodge
Contributor
Six of us made our first ever trip to Grand Cayman June 8 - 15.
First, the above water report.
We dove with Ocean Frontiers so staying at Compass Point was a bit of a no brainer. I think it would be remiss to start off any report that includes Ocean Frontiers and Compass Point without pointing out just how fantastic the staff is. Without us saying they knew exactly who we were when we walked into the shop to check in and seemed genuinely happy that we were there. They helped us get settled in our condo, carry our bags up the 2 flights and made sure we had everything we needed for our dives that started the next day. The dive staff, who is essentially the same group, is just as good. The boats are fast, the groups reasonable sized and great briefings are given before each dive. I also can't say enough about how great their valet gear service is. We unpacked our gear the morning of our first dives into named crates left outside our condo. The staff picked up the gear and the next time any of us messed with our gear was to repack it in our bags. The staff sets up you gear on you tanks, switches tanks between dives and rinses and dries the gear at the end of each day. How nice!
As I said there were 6 of us total but specifically we were a group of 3 couples. The "Phase 2" building of Compass Point, across the street from Phase 1, had a 3 bedroom condo on the top floor that worked out great for us. The condo has 3 separate bedrooms each with it's own private bathroom. The bath attached to the smallest bedroom was set up that it could be used as a bathroom for all guests. The smallest bedroom has two twin beds that could be configured to be one king sized bed. The second bedroom not only has a king size bed and private bath but also a small kitchen and the ability to be shut off as it's own private 1 bed condo. The master suite is impressive. King size bed, very large dual vanity bath, soaking tub, separate shower, and giant walk in closet. There are shutters/doors on one side of the soaker tub that can be opened up so you can soak and lookout the window and onto the reef just outside the windows. Very cool. The rest of the condo is great too made of a very usable kitchen, dining room, living room, and a balcony that runs the whole length of the condo and looks out over the reef.
The remainder of resort is very nice as well. The doc and small beach is picturesque. Being on the windward side of the island provides a constant sea breeze that helps keep the temperatures in check. My only complaint, and it's nothing that the resort could have fixed, but the mosquitos were horrible.
The East End of Grand Cayman was very quite and has a secluded feel to it. If you have non-divers with you there is a very real chance they'll end up being bored.
On to the diving .... it was everything you hear about Grand Cayman. Awesome walls, great visibility, warm water, and a lot of life to see. We made 15 dives during out trip. Our group consisted of brand new divers with less than 10 dives all the way up to a PADI Certified Dive Instructor and everyone had a great time. Most of our trips consisted of a ~100ft wall dive followed by a shallow dive.
The out of the ordinary dives we went on was a UV Night dive and a trip to the Kittiwake wreck. The UV night dive was in about 20 feet of water with black lights instead of traditional torches. The proteins in the coral and sea anemones that glow in the black light are beyond cool. The Kittiwake is also well worth the trip. Ocean Frontiers charters dive boats from operators on the West End instead of using their own boats. To make the dive, divers drive from the East End to West Bay and meet an Ocean Frontiers staffer who servers as dive master. The wreck sits on a beautiful patch of white sand, has large holes cut in for easy swim-throughs and a lot of light inside the wreck. Ocean Frontiers usually only makes the trip to the Kittiwake on Tuesdays. However we called the week before our trip and there weren't any spaces left but since there were of six of us the setup a special trip just for our group on Wednesday. Just another example of the OF staff going above and beyond.
One person from our group participated in the Lionfish kill on Thursday. The trip was reported as enjoyable but also as a lot of work looking for and swimming after the lion fish.
Overall it was an AMAZING trip. We would go back in an instant and wouldn't think of staying anywhere but Compass Point or diving with Ocean Frontiers.
Happy Diving
First, the above water report.
We dove with Ocean Frontiers so staying at Compass Point was a bit of a no brainer. I think it would be remiss to start off any report that includes Ocean Frontiers and Compass Point without pointing out just how fantastic the staff is. Without us saying they knew exactly who we were when we walked into the shop to check in and seemed genuinely happy that we were there. They helped us get settled in our condo, carry our bags up the 2 flights and made sure we had everything we needed for our dives that started the next day. The dive staff, who is essentially the same group, is just as good. The boats are fast, the groups reasonable sized and great briefings are given before each dive. I also can't say enough about how great their valet gear service is. We unpacked our gear the morning of our first dives into named crates left outside our condo. The staff picked up the gear and the next time any of us messed with our gear was to repack it in our bags. The staff sets up you gear on you tanks, switches tanks between dives and rinses and dries the gear at the end of each day. How nice!
As I said there were 6 of us total but specifically we were a group of 3 couples. The "Phase 2" building of Compass Point, across the street from Phase 1, had a 3 bedroom condo on the top floor that worked out great for us. The condo has 3 separate bedrooms each with it's own private bathroom. The bath attached to the smallest bedroom was set up that it could be used as a bathroom for all guests. The smallest bedroom has two twin beds that could be configured to be one king sized bed. The second bedroom not only has a king size bed and private bath but also a small kitchen and the ability to be shut off as it's own private 1 bed condo. The master suite is impressive. King size bed, very large dual vanity bath, soaking tub, separate shower, and giant walk in closet. There are shutters/doors on one side of the soaker tub that can be opened up so you can soak and lookout the window and onto the reef just outside the windows. Very cool. The rest of the condo is great too made of a very usable kitchen, dining room, living room, and a balcony that runs the whole length of the condo and looks out over the reef.
The remainder of resort is very nice as well. The doc and small beach is picturesque. Being on the windward side of the island provides a constant sea breeze that helps keep the temperatures in check. My only complaint, and it's nothing that the resort could have fixed, but the mosquitos were horrible.
The East End of Grand Cayman was very quite and has a secluded feel to it. If you have non-divers with you there is a very real chance they'll end up being bored.
On to the diving .... it was everything you hear about Grand Cayman. Awesome walls, great visibility, warm water, and a lot of life to see. We made 15 dives during out trip. Our group consisted of brand new divers with less than 10 dives all the way up to a PADI Certified Dive Instructor and everyone had a great time. Most of our trips consisted of a ~100ft wall dive followed by a shallow dive.
The out of the ordinary dives we went on was a UV Night dive and a trip to the Kittiwake wreck. The UV night dive was in about 20 feet of water with black lights instead of traditional torches. The proteins in the coral and sea anemones that glow in the black light are beyond cool. The Kittiwake is also well worth the trip. Ocean Frontiers charters dive boats from operators on the West End instead of using their own boats. To make the dive, divers drive from the East End to West Bay and meet an Ocean Frontiers staffer who servers as dive master. The wreck sits on a beautiful patch of white sand, has large holes cut in for easy swim-throughs and a lot of light inside the wreck. Ocean Frontiers usually only makes the trip to the Kittiwake on Tuesdays. However we called the week before our trip and there weren't any spaces left but since there were of six of us the setup a special trip just for our group on Wednesday. Just another example of the OF staff going above and beyond.
One person from our group participated in the Lionfish kill on Thursday. The trip was reported as enjoyable but also as a lot of work looking for and swimming after the lion fish.
Overall it was an AMAZING trip. We would go back in an instant and wouldn't think of staying anywhere but Compass Point or diving with Ocean Frontiers.
Happy Diving
